That Was Then, This Is Dumb
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day four hundred and twelve: Will runs into an old friend who followed the path he almost followed back in the day.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 18th cycle. Now cycle 19!_

**TV Titles Cycle **- So this is Cycle 20! I wanted to do something special, so here we are! Some of you may remember a while back me asking for episode titles from tv shows. I've always found that a lot of shows have great episode titles, so this is how this cycle came to be. Each story will be inspired and titled after an episode from a different show. The influence of the episode may vary from story to story, not seeking to rely completely on it ;) You'll see...  
**Today's Show/Title:** "Daria" - _That Was Then, This Is Dumb_

_A/N: Sorry for the shortness of some of these lately, studying for finals... After tomorrow, and really after thursday, things should start shifting... I hope :)_

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**"That Was Then, This Is Dumb"**  
**Will**

There was a point in his life when he really considered being an accountant, in college… His studies were always a bit scattered, something he would later attribute to the fact that he was constantly sidestepping what he really wanted to do.

But still there was that time where the wheel had stayed on 'accountant' and he'd seriously thought about it, which some time down the line would allow it to stand as a viable back up plan, when he believed he was going to have to provide for both a wife and a child. If it wasn't just his interests, there was also Tony.

Tony Ferguson was his friend since day one in college. They'd met in the bookstore, run into each other a few times before they'd started hanging out. It turned out they had some classes in common; he was studying accounting, too. If Will was interested, Tony was driven… He had his passion, he was set for life. And being in his presence, Will felt even more determined.

They'd stayed friends even after Will had changed his focus, but they'd ended up losing touch after graduation. He had never known for sure but he was fairly certain he knew where Tony had ended up.

Then he'd run into him, the summer after the first year at Glee Club. He'd stopped in to a coffee shop and just as he was turning to leave, he came face to face with a memory.

"Will Schuester," he proclaimed as he too recognized him. They both had that smile of friends being reunited, followed by a cordial handshake and hug.

"Tony Ferguson," Will returned the call.

"Yes," he smiled. "Well, I go by Anthony now," he revealed.

"Right, of course," Will nodded. "Wow, it has been a while, hasn't it?" he spoke, looking around before turning back and indicating the table he'd just left. They went to sit. "You and Stephanie?" he asked of the girl who'd been Tony's girlfriend throughout college.

"Married," he nodded. "Two kids and another on the way," he revealed.

"Wow," Will laughed, surprised. He never saw Stephanie as the… motherly type, but he wasn't going to tell Tony that…

"And you and Terri?" he returned.

"Well… married… now divorced," he nodded, awkwardly answering the question he'd expected and dreaded. There was a pause, so he continued, changing the subject. "I, uh, I teach high school Spanish, and I direct the school Glee Club," he stated the last part with much more pride than in the first. "Where are you at now?"

"HW Menken," Tony nodded. "Just got promoted." Will tried not to show the reaction he had at hearing him mention the place he'd almost left McKinley for… Tony could have been his boss. The old friend went on talking about his job, and despite the suit, the surprisingly not-unruly hair, the moment he got to talking, he recognized his old friend.

The thing he noticed right away though… the thrill was gone. It used to be that when Tony would go off all passionate like he did, Will was usually right along with him, but listening to him now… All he felt was how thankful he was, not to have gone along with that route as he'd planned to and to have stuck with McKinley… It made him think of Emma, and instantly it was joined with regret for missing his chance with her.

"What about you and Glee Club? Didn't you use to be in one of those?" Tony recalled.

"The very same one," Will confirmed. "Well, sort of the same. We're… They're just constantly growing. They started out just last fall and you'd never think they would have ever become any sort of unit, but they did. They've come so far this year, almost made it to Nationals," he ignored the fact that they hadn't placed; they had won in his heart. "They're fighters though, they'll make it," he nodded with a smile.

As he sat there, it hit him… That same thrill that Tony had about being an accountant, he had it when he went on about Glee Club… It made all his choices and twists and turns that much more worthwhile, because now he knew he was right where he needed to be, no regrets, only pride…

THE END

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**A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
****always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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